Excitement

Meng Xi and Meng Wen hurried forward at the sight, their faces brimming with smiles and anticipation.

Before Meng Jizu, all their pride, domineering airs, and self-centeredness vanished without a trace, replaced by meek obedience.

In a sense, which of them would one day take charge of the Meng Family depended largely on Meng Jizu's attitude. It was somewhat like the imperial struggle for the throne.

Not to mention that Meng Jizu was their father, naturally holding them down by a head. Lowering themselves and playing the humble son was simply the norm.

Yet Meng Jizu, who had always valued and nurtured his two sons, behaved very differently this time.

He turned a blind eye to the two of them. With a broad sweep of his hand, he shoved the pair approaching him aside, one to the left and one to the right.

When he reached Meng Zhao, he looked him up and down. His excitement overflowed from his face as he said repeatedly, "The resemblance, it's truly uncanny! Third Brother, look—doesn't Zhao look exactly like Second Brother when he was young?"

As he spoke, Meng Hongdao also left An Hui behind and stepped forward. Like he was examining some precious treasure, he studied Meng Zhao, unable to hide the smile on his face as he nodded again and again. "Indeed. Zhao bears a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Second Brother in his youth—valiant and handsome, heroic and imposing. He is worthy of being a son of our Meng Family."

In truth, Meng Zhao and Meng Zhengan were probably only fifty to sixty percent alike. But in Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao's eyes, with the halo of memory cast over him, that resemblance had been magnified without limit.

The joy and sorrow on the faces of those two men, both already decades old, clearly came from seeing Meng Zhao and remembering their brother, who had died in the prime of his life.

Meng Zhao was somewhat surprised by the attention he received, but this was also a rare opportunity.

At once, he unleashed acting skills beyond anything he had shown before. His eyes reddened, and two streams of hot tears poured down his cheeks. He dropped to his knees and performed a great kowtow before Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao.

Perhaps because he appeared too emotional, he failed to control his strength and knocked his forehead red. He said, "This unfilial nephew... Meng Zhao, greets Eldest Uncle and Third Uncle. Zhao... has returned."

Though it was only a short sentence, Meng Zhao choked up several times, his emotions nearly spiraling out of control. Even Meng Xi, who held quite a prejudice against him, could not help but feel moved by the sight.

Meng Zhao had learned in his previous life that acting seemed to be divided into experiential, method, and representational schools. At this moment, Meng Zhao was undoubtedly the pinnacle of experiential acting, completely immersing himself in the real Meng Zhao's feelings. In his excitement, there was not the slightest trace of falsehood.

This performance also filled Meng Jizu and Meng Hongdao with countless emotions. The two stepped forward at the same time and helped Meng Zhao to his feet.

Meng Jizu said with both heartache and guilt, "Zhao, it is good that you have returned. It is not that you were unfilial—it is that we have failed you."

The dry consolation did not seem to contain much substance, but they were under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Although the Meng Family was deeply dissatisfied with Emperor Beitang Sheng's decree to take Meng Zhao away all those years ago, they did not dare reveal it. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives seized upon it, it could very well bring trouble upon the Meng Family.

Watching the emotional uncle and nephew, Meng Hongdao casually wiped at the moisture in the corner of his eye. Then, seeing the great throng of people watching them, he laughed heartily and patted his elder brother on the back. "Elder Brother, enough. Now that Zhao has returned, everything will get better from now on. Let us go back inside first and talk."

Only then did Meng Jizu come back to himself. He seized Meng Zhao's hand and refused to let go, nodding repeatedly. "That is right, Third Brother. Today is the day our whole family reunites. We cannot let others laugh at us. Come, let us go home."

With that, he pulled Meng Zhao toward the gates, treating his two biological sons, his wife, and his daughter as though they were air.

This inevitably made Meng Xi and Meng Wen feel somewhat awkward, but neither showed anything. They clearly knew that Meng Zhao had only just returned to the manor, so Meng Jizu would naturally dote on and favor him in every way.

Once some time had passed and the excitement had settled, everything would return to normal.

The two of them did not believe biological sons could possibly lose out to a nephew.

No matter how close a nephew was, the one to inherit the family estate in the future could only be one of the two of them. It could never be Meng Zhao.

As for Kong Yun, she remained even more unruffled, as though no matter how Meng Jizu treated her, she would have no reaction.

The only one feeling somewhat displeased inside was probably the young girl, Meng Rong.

Having always been doted upon as the treasured jewel in her father's and Third Uncle's palms, she now felt an enormous threat.

Her lips pouted so far that they could have hung an oil flask from them. Her eyes were filled with displeasure, and her two fair little hands clenched tightly into fists as she huffed, "Father is really something else. He forgot all about me the moment he saw Cousin. I was still waiting to see my gift!"

Her favorable impression of Meng Zhao also dropped considerably. Mainly, it was her sense of crisis at work—she feared falling out of favor.

She had once been the little princess of the household, the number one person whom everyone indulged. Yet Meng Zhao had only just returned and was already being valued so highly. It left Meng Rong with a bitter taste in her heart.

At that moment, Meng Chuan, who at just sixteen was more burly than a burly man, walked over. Like a small giant, he directly blocked out the sunlight before Meng Rong, leaving her standing in shadow.

After hearing Meng Rong's complaint, Meng Chuan's usually cold expression vanished without a trace. He comforted her somewhat foolishly, "Little Sister, if you want to see the gifts, I can take you to see them.

"Fourth Brother suffered so much outside and never returned even once all these years. Eldest Uncle and my father will definitely pay him even more attention. Why are you jealous of him? If others find out, they will surely laugh at you."

As he spoke, a trace of melancholy appeared in Meng Chuan's eyes.

He was two years younger than Meng Zhao. When Meng Zhao left the family all those years ago, he was already six and retained some memories.

Because they were close in age, he had gotten along well with this Fourth Brother and shared a close bond with him.

He also knew that Fourth Brother had lived a bitter life. Born into the Meng Family, he had enjoyed little familial affection and received few blessings. Instead, he had suffered much hardship. Thus, Meng Chuan did not want Meng Rong to harbor any dissatisfaction or complaints toward Meng Zhao.

He hoped even more that family members could understand and care for one another. Only then would they be a true family.

Seeing Meng Chuan speak this way, Meng Rong's pretty face reddened. She raised her delicate fist and lightly thumped Meng Chuan's rock-hard chest twice, saying fiercely, "Gorilla, what are you saying? I'm not jealous at all! If you dare talk nonsense, just see how I deal with you."

Emotionally, Meng Rong was not particularly close to her two biological brothers. Instead, she preferred playing with Meng Chuan, her Fifth Brother.

It was probably because both of them had pure hearts and straightforward natures, without any twists and turns.

Gorilla was the nickname Meng Rong had given Meng Chuan. Meng Chuan did not dislike it at all. On the contrary, he felt that this sort of relationship and interaction between siblings was quite good.

His thick, powerful palm ruffled the little girl's beautifully tied hair bun as he smiled. "Yes, that's right. You are so mature, Little Sister. How could you possibly be so petty as to get jealous of your own cousin?

"Let us hurry inside too, lest Eldest Uncle and the others come looking for us later."

By then, much of the original great crowd had already left. Kong Yun and An Hui had also departed hand in hand.

At the sight, Meng Rong gave a cry and grabbed Meng Chuan's hand, skipping toward the gates.

The remaining servants, meanwhile, excitedly discussed what they had just witnessed.

Though they were servants of Meng Mansion, they rarely saw so many members of the Meng Family gathered together at once. Their words were filled with fresh material for gossip.